Google BigQuery integration: How to use service account in n8n.cloud?

Questions
1

Hi everyone,

I’m currently building an AI-based Telegram assistant on n8n.cloud (v1.101.1) and need to insert data into a BigQuery table in my GCP project.

The problem is:
I can’t find the usual “Google Cloud” credential type (the one that uses a service account JSON key).
In the credential menu, I only see:

  • Google BigQuery OAuth2 API
  • Google Cloud Storage OAuth2 API

For automation, I’d really prefer the service account method (via JSON key) over OAuth2.

Questions:

  1. Is service account authentication supported on n8n.cloud for BigQuery?
  2. If yes — how can I enable or access the “Google Cloud” credential type?
  3. If not — what’s the best practice to securely connect a production assistant to BigQuery?
2

If you’re using n8n.cloud, service‑account authentication is currently not supported for BigQuery. The platform only shows:

  • Google BigQuery OAuth2 API
  • Google Cloud Storage OAuth2 API

So use OAuth2 for BigQuery. This works securely and is supported on n8n.cloud. It requires user consent upfront but handles token refresh automatically. Best for most production use cases.

For service accounts, self-host n8n. If you must use JSON key-based authentication, you’ll need to run n8n yourself (e.g., on your own server). There you can use the Google Service Account credential, which supports BigQuery securely via JSON and service account email